The Swedish forge that secretly fueled German artillery during the interwar years
In short: How did a Swedish iron works become a global name in weaponry? Beyond its famous 40 mm anti-aircraft gun lies a clandestine history of industrial espionage, where a prohibited German giant used Swedish soil to bypass international treaties and keep its war machine running.
The roots of Bofors stretch back to 1646, beginning as a royal state-owned hammer mill called "Boofors." For over 200 years, it evolved from a simple forge into a premier steel producer. By the early 1870s, the company began utilizing the Siemens-Martin process to produce cast and forged steel for guns. A pivotal shift occurred in 1894 when Alfred Nobel took ownership, transforming the firm into a modern cannon manufacturer and chemical industry participant, eventually creating a dedicated explosives subsidiary in 1898.
The company's most complex era began following World War I. The Treaty of Versailles strictly limited Germany's ability to develop or export artillery. To circumvent these restrictions, the German firm Krupp entered a secret cooperation with Bofors in 1919. Bofors provided Krupp with technical information on steel production and was authorized to duplicate certain artillery designs. In a striking move of industrial maneuvering, Krupp even held a 31.8% stake in Bofors starting in 1920, despite Swedish laws prohibiting foreign ownership of military industries above 20%. This partnership allowed Bofors to prosper, employing roughly 2,800 people by the early 1930s.
This clandestine era ended in 1935 when the Swedish parliament banned foreign ownership of military industries, forcing Krupp to liquidate its shares. The company later became a household name during World War II due to the Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun, which was so ubiquitous that "Bofors gun" became a generic term for anti-aircraft artillery. Today, the legacy of the Bofors Works continues as part of BAE Systems, having shaped the industrial landscape of Karlskoga, where the works employed nearly 10,000 people by 1970.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Bofors
- Also: Wikidata — Bofors · CC0
- Also: Wikidata — Bofors 40 mm · CC0
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